Are the new PC Touch Screen Monitors Really Worth Getting?

[zaq.sr163]

Hello Forum,

I don't know about you guys but considering getting
one those new snazzy PC touch screen monitors does not appeal to
me.

I mean i'm so used to using the good old mouse which has been
the indispensable companion to PC users for aeons.
I'm sure this is the case for many of you.

But, i can't see myself touching the PC screen incessantly
during use - waving hands and fingers around across the new-fangled screen
like a magician casting a spell - abracadabra.

What do you guys think?
Any of you made the leap?

 

[Darkmere]

Why dont you go to Best Buy and play with one. I mean I am like in the middle with them. They are fun they have the flyout keyboard and you can write in cursive on the screen and it turns it into words. You have zoom similar to the Tablets. The only thing I dont care too much for is the special navigational features like the right click menu is exactly like the windows 7 tablet PCs you have to do these gestures with your hands to get it to come up. But I am sure you can get used to it. And you can still use a mouse with them as well which is a plus. Pretty much everything now days is going to touch.

 

[essellar]

Think of them not as "touch compulsory" but "touch enhanced". A mouse is a useful tool, but it falls flat in a lot of places. I wouldn't use a mouse with something like Photoshop, Illustrator or a CAD program, for instance, unless I had no other choice -- a digitizer tablet (like the Wacom Bamboo Pen, Intuos or the monitor/tablet combo Cintiq) is a much better interface for those applications. A touchscreen interface is really good for some things as well -- think about a computer that is used mostly for media playing, or even a computer that you use for just about everything, but right now it's just your stereo/VCR/TV thingy. Do you really want to hunch over a desk (or worse, sit down) to use a mouse to play an album or skip ahead to the next song?

 

[zaq.sr163]

Think of them not as "touch compulsory" but "touch enhanced". A mouse is a useful tool, but it falls flat in a lot of places. I wouldn't use a mouse with something like Photoshop, Illustrator or a CAD program, for instance, unless I had no other choice -- a digitizer tablet (like the Wacom Bamboo Pen, Intuos or the monitor/tablet combo Cintiq) is a much better interface for those applications. A touchscreen interface is really good for some things as well -- think about a computer that is used mostly for media playing, or even a computer that you use for just about everything, but right now it's just your stereo/VCR/TV thingy. Do you really want to hunch over a desk (or worse, sit down) to use a mouse to play an album or skip ahead to the next song?

I was under the impression they were "touch compulsory". I can see your point for a Graphic Designer. But i suppose for the average home user it maybe a cosmetic thing or the choice of a wow touch screen monitor or an iPad. Lol.

Agree with Darkmere that the paradigm shift of logical peripherals is going towards touch
Yes i know what some will think that i'm a dinosaur soon to be wiped out.
But hey ho, me personally - i'll stick with the old mouse for a while longer.
Thanks for the views guys - some food for thought!!

 

[cybrax]

Touch screen is the way forward but only halfway I feel, anybody remember the computer consoles from Star Trek Nex Generation? Closer to our present date the OLTP people (One Laptop Per Child) have an interesting dual screen notebook / folding tablet design in the works that would put Apple to shame in terms of design.

 

[sluthra]

I personally can't do it. I prefer the mouse and keyboard. I can understand using a touch screen in media oriented applications, but other than that it's not as quick as using a mouse with 5700 DPI ha

 

[Dead-i]

I'm not sure if touch screen monitors is the way to go for Windows. You would have to hold your hand out all the time, and it would be very hard to operate without a normal keyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92QfWOw88I

 

[Darkmere]

The touch screens do come with a keyboard and mouse so you can use both

 

[Dead-i]

The touch screens do come with a keyboard and mouse so you can use both

Didn't know that, thanks Even if the touch screens come into play, the desktop computer will always be the master.

 

[Darkmere]

Yeah I mean even the Windows 7 Tablet PCs have a fold out keyboard hidden under them it basically turns from a tablet to a laptop lol

 

[Dead-i]

Yeah I mean even the Windows 7 Tablet PCs have a fold out keyboard hidden under them it basically turns from a tablet to a laptop lol

Haha, okay :biggrin: So it's basically half laptop, half tablet (that they've pretty much copied from apple's iPad).

 

[Darkmere]

yeah it is wierd ... the big windows 7 tablets look like a laptop but the screen breaks and folds up to look like a tablet ... the one we got looks like the iPad and the Android tablets with no keyboard attached but when we bought it in the box was a full size key board that connected to the tablet via IR which was pretty cool

 

[Dead-i]

Here is a comparison

 

[essellar]

Actually, Windows has been a tablet (keyboardless) OS longer than the iPad or any other iOS device has been around. Mostly for stylus input rather than touchscreen (that's the hardware makers' decision), yes, but it's been around for quite a while -- used mostly in field service and inventory applications.

Not all Windows tablets are convertibles, but the applications that have been created for keyboardless use have mostly been specialised technical/industrial apps, so the tablet suppliers have been mostly aiming at corporate IT purchasing. Frankly, it took the iPhone and the Kindle, along with reasonably high wireless network speeds and ubiquitous streaming video, to show people that a tablet could be useful. When you're thinking in terms of "mostly Office and occasional web surfing", something without a physical keyboard sounds kind of crazy. Now that the majority of people's computer use outside of the office is media consumption, it makes a lot more sense.

 

[remy87x18]

Touch screen to me is only good for small device like Iphone/Ipod/Ipad or something similar that is on the go. When it comes to computer or laptop, I prefer the old fashion keyboard and mouse. If you're working with Photoshop or drafting e.g. AutoCad, don't expect finger touching the screen will replace the mouse and keyboard.

 

[essellar]

If you're using Photoshop or AutoCad with a mouse, you're doing yourself a serious injustice. Get a tablet -- not in the touchscreen sense, but in the Wacom Intuos (or Bamboo, or even an older Graphire if you're on a budget -- or Cintiq if you're loaded) sense. Yes, you need the keyboard as well, but drawing using absolute screen coordinates with a precision stylus that has pressure sensitivity (which can be hooked to opacity and brush size) is a thousand times better than pushing a relative-coordinates bar of soap around the desktop.

 

[Darkmere]

If you're using Photoshop or AutoCad with a mouse, you're doing yourself a serious injustice. Get a tablet -- not in the touchscreen sense, but in the Wacom Intuos (or Bamboo, or even an older Graphire if you're on a budget -- or Cintiq if you're loaded) sense. Yes, you need the keyboard as well, but drawing using absolute screen coordinates with a precision stylus that has pressure sensitivity (which can be hooked to opacity and brush size) is a thousand times better than pushing a relative-coordinates bar of soap around the desktop.

I would have to agree ... I have Photo shop on my tablet and I love it. I find not only with drawing but for instance like when you are working on a project and you need to make a mask selection it is way easier to use your finger or stylus to trace a route than is a mouse cursor.